Zhaojiaguan Dumplings

Zhaojiaguan Dumplings

　　　　Changli Zhaojiaguan, located on East Gulou Street in Changli County, was founded in 1921. Its founder, Zhao Fuyuan (1907–1996), was a renowned master of dumpling-making in his time.

　　Zhaojiaguan and its signature dumplings have gone through several phases: a booming period in the 1940s, a golden age in the 1950s, a challenging time during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, and a revival period afterward. The establishment has a history of over 80 years.

　　Long acclaimed, Zhaojiaguan Dumplings are a traditional and iconic local delicacy from Changli County, primarily featuring steamed round dumplings. Their characteristics include: carefully selected ingredients, thin wrappers, generous and loose fillings, delicious taste, aromatic yet not greasy, and a fresh, tender mouthfeel. They are divided into four major series—seafood, vegetarian, meat, and assorted—with thirteen varieties. A typical meat filling recipe, using one jin (500g) of flour to make the dumplings, includes 6.5 liǎng (325g) of fresh pork, 1 liǎng (50g) of lard, 5 qian (2.5g) of sesame oil, 5 qian (2.5g) of dried shrimp, 5 qian (2.5g) of MSG, and appropriate amounts of scallions, vegetables, shiitake mushrooms, and various seasonings. Seasonal variations often incorporate additional seafood such as prawns, crab meat, shrimp roe, fish bones, sea cucumber, scallops, clams, mussels, abalone, octopus, and mantis shrimp, giving the dumplings a distinctive flavor that has won wide customer acclaim. The preparation involves scalding the dough with boiling water, enriching the meat filling with chicken broth, and crafting everything entirely by hand. The quality benchmark is 70 dumplings per jin of flour, weighing between 3.1–3.3 jin.

　　Thanks to their unique flavor and strong market demand, Zhaojiaguan Dumplings have been featured in publications such as the overseas edition of People’s Daily, Hebei Daily, Economic Daily, and Food News, causing a sensation both domestically and abroad. In the 1950s, Zhao Fuyuan participated in numerous national and regional competitions and performances, earning multiple awards. Former Ministers of Culture Shen Yanbing and Liao Mosha both spoke highly of his work. During a performance competition in Tianjin, the late President Liu Shaoqi even watched his demonstration, leading to a commemorative photo and a plaque inscribed “The Finest in Eastern Beijing” (later destroyed during the Cultural Revolution). Zhaojiaguan also hosted master artists such as Xun Huisheng, Shang Xiaoyun, Xi Xiaobo, and Guan Shaohua. Over the years, Zhaojiaguan and its dumplings have received numerous provincial and municipal awards and honors.